Community Corner
Applesauce Workshop Coming to Blackwood Market
Stop by the farmers' market this weekend for a cooking lesson and other fall delights.
You just bought what appears to be a very large bushel of apples and you have no idea what to do with all those ripe macintosh, gala and golden delicious apples.
Well, you make applesauce, of course!
This Saturday, stop by the for an applesauce cooking lesson. Lessons will be held at 10:30 a.m. and then again at 11:30 a.m.
“My grandchildren love it. I love it. You can freeze it or can it. Homemade applesauce is so easy to make and preserve,” said volunteer organizer Stephanie Roberts.
Roberts is one of nine volunteers from Blackwood West Redevelopment Corp., the group that organizes the market, now in its third year.
The applesauce lesson will include teaching attendees to cook the apples, process it and then preserve it for the long winter months ahead.
The last of the summer produce and the fall produce is plentiful at the market. Pears are beginning to show up in large quantities—perfect for slipping into a lunch box or for whipping up a homemade pear pie.
“I like to make my way through the market. My favorite are the beautiful giant carrots from Pleasant Valley Farms and then I love to pick up apples from Monteleon,” said Beth Holzman, who tries to make it to the market each week.
Dave Monteleon Farms also has a fall crop of lettuce, spring mix and other greens, while Pleasant Valley Farms, from Hammonton, has a variety of canned goodies ranging from homemade tomato salsa to blueberry jam to pear butter.
The GT Green Team will also be on hand this Saturday for a children’s storytime during market hours. Book selections will be made by the GT children’s librarian.
When you get to the market, grab a reusable shopping bag from the organizers' tent. Each week you use your shopping bag, you can enter to win a $5 gift card to one of the market's vendors (who doesn’t love free apples!). And don’t forget to grab a folder full of great farmers' market recipes. Both the bag and the recipes are available for a small donation (the amount is up to you). Donations will be used to print the official Blackwood Farmers Market cookbook.
The is held every Saturday, from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., in the parking lot of the Gloucester Township-Blackwood Rotary Public Library on Black Horse Pike.
